Powerless to Evade the Grip of Death in Poes The Mask of...

Is it possible to evade death during a massive plague that is killing millions? Edgar Allan Poe uses setting, theme and plot in the â€Å"Mask of the Red Death† to illustrate that no one can escape death. Death is everywhere either someone dies or experiences a loss in there lifetime. The mask of the red death is an allegory, which means that is a short story with two meanings. The short story uses literal elements such as plot and the colors of the room. It also has a large philosophical meaning like the concept of life and death and the powerlessness of people to evade the grip of death. Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism to show the transition leading to death by using each of the seven rooms in the castle to represent a stage of life. The†¦show more content†¦This room represented death or the end of life. Another example of symbolism happens when the clock rings. â€Å"And then, for a moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock† symbolizes the fear that is in the guests and the prince even though they think they are safe from the plague they know they are not. Edgar Allan Poe also uses theme to show that no woman or man can escape death. It is human nature, to attempt to escape death, and many of us in the modern world resort to extreme measures to postpone entering the â€Å"Seventh room† as long as possible. For example, some of us make unnecessary visits to physicians; refuse to prepare a will because they think that they can avoid the fact that everyone dies eventually. In prince Prospero’s case, he throws a masquerade ball to try to avoid the disease that is around him. This eventually ends up killing him. Another thing that lead up to the disease killing him is that he had the doors welded shut the gates and doors so that the natural disease could not reach him. That also meant that if something happened in the castle no one could get out. One more literary element Edgar Allan Poe uses to show the theme is plot. While the prince is having his masked ball, the plague is wreaking havoc on the world outside his castle. Prince Prospero doesn’t think that the red death can kill him but when the ebony clock strikes twelve the guest get frightened. Once the clock